CSRC to strengthen supervision of listed enterprises

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has penalized 120 listed companies for violating regulations in 2013, compared with 96 last year and 73 in 2011, which shows that the regulator has tightened supervision and regulation of the market, Chongqing Economic Times reported Saturday.

At the beginning of this year, the CSRC launched inspection of the companies lining up for an IPO, and later intensified the investigation of the listed companies. In June and July, around 50 listed companies were warned or punished for the violation of regulations by the CSRC, the report said.

The violations are related to fraud, insider trading, non-compliance with information disclosure regulations, violation of rules governing IPO sponsors and rat-trading breaches.

When Xiao Gang, the new chairman of the CSRC, took office in March, he set IPO system reform as the top priority, with improving the IPO process and enhancing supervision of listed companies being key tasks.

In an article in Qiushi Journal, Xiao pointed out that the CSRC should emphasize on regulation, supervision and law enforcement more than examination and approval.

A securities dealer told the newspaper that with Xiao's zero tolerance for rule breakers, listed or to-be-listed companies and related institutions have become extremely cautious.

However, Xiao noted in the article that each year only less than 60 percent of cases the CSRC put on record for investigation could be finished with results.